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Rape charges dropped against UCLA students

By Daily Bruin Staff

July 14, 1996 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, July 14, 1996

Blood alcohol test results negative on woman, three menBy Marie
Blanchard

Summer Bruin Senior Staff

The Riverside district attorney’s office announced last week
they would not file charges against three UCLA students who were
accused of raping another student at a Palm Springs party last
month.

Last Wednesday at noon, prosecutors announced they were dropping
the rape investigation of Kristof Hamrick, 21, Joseph Mount, 20,
and Jack Ripsteen, 21.

"Our reasons for not filing the charges were a combination of
insufficient evidence and the woman’s pressure to drop the
charges," Prosecutor Rick Erwood said.

The three men, all members of UCLA’s Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT)
fraternity, were accused of raping another student at a ZBT
three-day weekend party in Palm Springs.

The woman told Palm Springs police that she and the men had been
drinking heavily and smoking marijuana in their Royal Sun Palm
Springs hotel room June 1.

She also told police that she was intoxicated while she and the
men played a sexual game called "master" where she had let the the
men take off her clothes and massage her. She claimed that the men
had then sexually assaulted her.

However, according to ZBT’s house lawyer, Gary Schwartz, the men
"have a different perception of the events that took place that
night."

"They claim that consensual sex took place between the female
and two of the men," Schwartz said.

The investigation was dropped last week after a meeting where
the woman asked the district attorney’s office to drop the charges
because she wanted her identity to remain confidential, Erwood
said.

"I think (the woman) was relieved that we agreed to take her
feelings into consideration and drop the charges," he said.

The district attorney’s office also stated that the
investigation was dropped after the blood alcohol test results of
the three men and woman came back negative.

Prosecutor Erwood said, "since the men were tested a few hours
after their arrest Saturday morning, the probability is that the
alcohol burned off in those few hours and thus the results were
negative."

Although the men were unavailable for comment, their lawyers
were relieved by Wednesday’s decision.

"We are relieved, my client is very much so. Although the
decision was not politically popular, I applaud the DA’s office.
The prosecution would not have been able to prove beyond a
reasonable doubt that they were guilty," said Gary Scherotter,
Hamrick’s lawyer.

Alan Oberstein, Mount’s lawyer said, "We hope (Mount) is able to
put it behind him. The incident was unfortunate for everyone
involved."

The woman’s lawyer is currently not speaking to the press.

In a press release sent out by Schwartz, the fraternity house
stated that "the fact finding by the Riverside County district
attorney’s office concluded that the sexual encounter by and
between the three members of the ZBT fraternity … and a female
coed was consensual in nature and not rape."

The press release continued, "It is unfortunate that the media
and special interest groups were quick to judge the guilt of
innocent individuals … ZBT salutes the decision of the DA’s
office not to prosecute … this decision was reached independently
of the pressure that had been placed upon that office to
prosecute."

However, the district attorney’s office said it felt tension
­ but not pressure to formally charge the men.

"With all the publicity, we needed to look at everything. Since
the men managed to bail out it gave us more time to examine all the
details (before pressing charges)," Erwood said.

The district attorney’s decision to end the investigation
received a mixed reaction on campus after it was announced.

"I respect the girl’s decision. For a rape victim to go forward
the situation needs to be right for them. I am just sad that this
is the stance she needs to take," said Heather McCarty, a UCLA
student and co-chair of the Womynist Collective, adding that she
would like to see the campus ostracize the men.

Others felt that the public had been too quick to determine the
guilt of the accused men.

"I believe in the judicial system. We can’t pass judgement on
those guys. The case was dropped for valid reasons and we need to
respect that," said Court Young, an undeclared third-year
student.

He added, "We should let them get on with their lives."

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